Experiment
by xDragonAurax
Summary: The rebellion failed. Many were killed, some were forced to live. Most importantly, the Hunger Games continued.  The story of the 75th Hunger Games from the view of District 5's tributes. Rebellion happened after HG, CF never happened.
1. The Reaping

**Aster POV**

I awoke to the sound of rain pounding the roof and thunder booming across the sky. Lightning flashed outside, casting eerie glows across my room. The weather was always stormy or overcast in District 5. The Capitol says it's just the way the weather is. I know it's because of the amount of chemicals we dump into the air daily.

Somewhere in the distance an alarm goes off. I run to the window, searching for the noise and the red lights. Lightning has hit one of the storage tanks. More radiation will no doubt be leaking into the ground around my building. So many have been affected by that radiation, we have some people who look more like animals than people. Others, like myself, had other effects from the radioactive waste.

I walk over to my dresser and pull out a long silver knife. The handle is wrapped in dark blue leather, fitting perfectly into my hand. I throw it at one of the many dents in the wall. I do this for a few hours, hitting the same mark over and over again. Finally, the knife created a small hole in the wall. Hundreds of these holes covered the wall from when my sister and I practiced without our parents knowing. All that was left of the three of them was this house and the empty bed beside me.

The rebellion failed. Many were killed, but some were allowed to live. Some, like the Victors, were forced to live in the Capitol as mentors for the future Hunger Games. My family wasn't so lucky. They were the main leaders of the rebellion in District 5. President Snow himself ordered that one person from each family involved in the rebellion was to watch their loved ones die. It was one day in April, the one sunny day we've ever had in District 5, when their blood covered the main square.

Sunlight peeks through my window. The rain has stopped. It seems fitting that today would be sunny: the reaping was today.

I wasn't particularly worried about myself. Being a test subject at the labs, I was fed regularly and given a monthly salary to buy anything I needed. I was more worried about Ian. Every year, the labs make one person take tessera for every other subject they have. This year, they chose Ian. He had to have at least a hundred entries this year, while I only had around seven. I had offered to take my own tessera, but Ian wouldn't let me.

Searching through my dresser, I found some black pants and a silky blue-grey shirt that matched my eyes. Black knee high boots were pulled on over my pants as I rushed to put my wispy blonde curls in their place. By the time I looked presentable it was 9:30. I cursed and hurried out the door.

I jogged through the cobblestone streets, the buildings blurring into the mass of dull grey that they really were. The square and the surrounding streets were already crowded. I had to push my way to the roped off area for the teenagers in my district. Ian was waiting for me at the sign in area, a small box in his hand. I snuck up behind him and tapped his shoulder. Ian turned around and smiled, the sunlight playing with his bright blue eyes. His ash blonde hair turned golden in the sun, much like how mine turned to silver.

"Happy Birthday Aster," he said, pulling me into a hug.

I tried to smile, but my birthday was never a celebrated event in my family. It always fell on the day of the reaping.

He placed the box in my hands and looked at me expectantly. I lifted the lid very slowly, just to torment him, and peeked inside. There, lying at the bottom of the box, was a necklace. A teardrop stone hung from a thin strip of brown suede. When I lifted it up to the sun, gold flecks flashed within the midnight blue stone.

"It's beautiful!"

"Here, let me put it on you."

I gave him the necklace and turned around. He brushed my hair to the side and his fingers lightly grazed my neck. Goosebumps rose on my skin and a small shiver went down my spine. I heard the faint _click _of the clasp and spun around to face Ian. I wrapped my arms around his shoulders and suddenly remembered where we were. I held him a little tighter, realizing this might be the last time I see him alive. Tears welled up in my eyes. He pulled away to look at me, pushing a stray curl out of my eyes. I leaned into his hand when he brushed away a tear with his thumb.

Our eyes met. I could see the worry in them. Ian turned to leave, but I pulled him back. We were close now, mere inches separating us . As if we both knew what the other wanted, we tilted our heads and our lips met.

It was like fire, but it didn't burn. Ian's lips were soft against mine, but I could feel all the fear in him making him desperate. His hand moved to the back of my neck, and mine rose to knot in his hair. I had no idea how long we were there for. Minutes? Hours? All I knew is that I never wanted it to end.

Unfortunately, someone coughed behind us. A Peacekeeper stood there, one of the nicer ones, and tried to usher us to our seats. Quite a few people were staring. Our faces were a bright shade of pink. Ian quickly hugged me again and kissed me lightly on the forehead before joining a crowd of seventeen year old boys. I floated over to the girl's section in a daze. I didn't even notice our escort was speaking until she called out "Ladies first!" in a shrill voice.

She stuck her hand into the bowl of slips like a snake, quickly picking the first slip she got her hands on. She read the name to herself first, probably trying to pronounce it so she didn't get it wrong.

"Aster Fallon!"

I froze where I was. I couldn't move, I couldn't even think.

"No," I whispered.

I strode up to the stage stiffly, trying not to look at Ian's distraught face as I passed him. I almost tripped up the stairs, but I caught myself before I could fall. Taking my place on the stage, I could see all of District 5's population.

"Any volunteers? Any at all?"

No, of course there wouldn't be any. Tribute is another word for death in most districts.

"Congratulations to Aster Fallon! Tribute of District 5!"

The escort moved to the other bowl and picked the slip the same way she did for the girls. The bowl didn't look that full: there weren't many boys in our district. At least half of those had to be Ian's, and I already knew his name was going to be called before I heard it with my own ears.

"Ian Evans!"

"No!"

This time it came out as a mix between a croak and a hoarse whisper. It carried to Ian, who looked up, his face covered with despair. I could feel my eyes watering and my hand reaching out to him, but I stayed where I was. I was beginning to shake like a leaf, and I was drenched in a cold sweat. My knees started to wobble. Ian started running towards the stage, taking the steps three at a time. The last thing I heard was him calling my name before the world faded to black.


	2. Justice Building

**Ian POV**

Aster lay limp in my arms. Her skin was ice cold, like she was dead, but when I put my hand over her heart, it fluttered like a bird's. People were beginning to crowd around. I picked Aster up and backed away. The square was in chaos. People were standing on chairs, trying to get a look at the stage to see what happened.

The shot of a gun got everyone's attention. A line of Peacekeepers had blocked the stage from everyone else. I looked over at the escort, who seemed to not know what to do. She caught me looking at her and I jerked my head towards the cameras. There was still a reaping going on.

"Congratulations," she said, her voice shaking, "to Aster Fallon and Ian Evans, your District 5 tributes!"

The crowd gave a halfhearted applause. No one was paying attention anymore, they were still trying to figure out what happened to Aster.

A crowd of Peacekeepers surrounded us and led us to the Justice Building. It was an old building, grey, like everything else in District 5. Part of the floor was marble, and my shoes made loud noises when I walked on it. We were led to a set of large, mahogany doors. A Peacekeeper turned to me and tried to take Aster. I backed away, holing her tighter, and shook my head.

"She needs to see her family," he said.

"You killed her family," I seethed, "We only have each other now."

The man looked like he was going to hit me, but the other Peacekeeper, the one who interrupted our kiss, put a hand on his shoulder. He stepped to the front and opened the gigantic doors.

The couch in the room had to be bigger than my house. Numerous pillows covered the soft fabric. I leaned back into the couch, being careful not to wake Aster. I moved her head on my lap and played with her hair. Her curls bounced when I pulled on them and felt soft and silky when I twirled them around my finger. Some of them got in her face. I brushed them away, and she opened her eyes.

She looked up at me and smiled, her eyes still half closed. I put my hand on her cheek, and she placed her hand over it. She closed her eyes and exhaled, a pleased smile on her face. Then her eyebrows knitted together and her whole body tensed up. Aster's fingers curled around mine as she opened her eyes again.

She no doubt knew where we were. Her eyes searched the room, trying to take it all in. With a jolt, I realized this would be one of the last things we see of District 5. I tried to look around, but all I could focus on was Aster. She had buried her face in my chest, and I could feel her tears on my shirt. I stroked her hair until she looked up at me. Her eyes were red from crying.

We stayed like this for a few minutes. The doors opened, and we both turned to see who it was. A man from the labs walked in.

"Well this is unexpected," the man said, "Ian, I kew you were going to be chosen this year, but Aster? How shocking. This will be one hell of an experiment."

We both stiffened. Aster's hands curled into fists. I could feel her hands getting hot, and she started to move to attack the man.

"Aster, no," I whispered.

"He's not worth it anyways."

The man stood there observing us the whole time, his head slightly turned to the side. He smiled to himself.

"I wish you both the best of luck," he chuckled darkly, before walking out the doors.

Aster watched him long after the doors had closed. We both hated him. That man was the one who preformed the horrible tests on us for years. The only compensation we ever got was a measly salary. She turned back to me, her eyes lit with blue fire.

"When you come home, kill him for me," she said, her eyes full of menace.

I laughed, "Don't you mean when you get home?"

We both looked away from each other then. I wasn't stupid, and neither was Aster. Only one person was allowed to win the Hunger Games. The only time two people won was when Katniss and Peeta were in the Games. They started the rebellion. When the rebels lost, they were forced to live in the Capitol with the other rebel victors, spending the rest of their lives mentoring future tributes.

The Peacekeepers came through the doors, motioning for us to leave. We walked to the door, pausing at the entrance. I turned to look at Aster. She looked at me, a question forming, but I just held out my arm.

"Shall we?"

"Let's."

The cameras were waiting as soon as we left the Justice Building. I smiled and waved at them, nudging Aster to do the same. The crowd went wild. The Peacekeepers had to create a wall around us so we weren't swamped. We finally got to the train and turned around, giving the paparazzi one last look. Aster blew a kiss and waved, while I just smiled. The train doors closed behind us. We both sighed, looking at each other and laughing. Suddenly, Aster gasped and took off towards the back of the train.

I followed her to a large window at the very back of th train. Her face was pressed up against the glass, her breath fogging it. I could see the grey mass that was District 5 growing farther away in the distance. A storm had started up again. Green pines began to obstruct our view of the District.

"Good-bye District 5," Aster whispered.

A flash of lightning and the boom of thunder gave us a final farewell.


End file.
